This Is Just Routine
by Scifiroots
Summary: Bruce felt uneasy from the moment he met Alex Connors. Based on the episode "Vanguard." Johnny/Alex, Bruce/Johnny unrequited
1. Chapter 1

This is Just Routine Part One

Clarity Scifiroots  
Disclaimers apply. (_A lot_ of dialogue is directly quoted or mimicked from the episode script.) Title from Afterhours' "There's Many Ways."  
**Rating**: FRM  
**SPOILERS**: The entire episode of "Vanguard" specifically, all mythos leading up to it  
**Summary**: Bruce felt uneasy from the moment he met Alex Conners.  
May!fic 21 of 31

-- --

Bruce noticed the spark the instant Alex Conners sauntered up to Johnny, challenging his former teacher to see what he'd taken a decade ago; (a time when everyone in the room but Bruce had known John as Johnny the teacher and Johnny the fiancé.) A distinct look of interest lit up Alex's eyes and triggered a wave of uneasiness in Bruce.

"Who is he?" Bruce asked Sarah when the party turned to mingling. He watched Johnny settle next to Alex on one side of the room. The smiles Bruce had grown familiar with over the years alternated on Johnny's expression, sometimes giving way to other expressions Bruce had never seen.

Sarah smiled, a hint of pride in her eyes. "Alex Conners. One of Johnny's greatest achievements."

Bruce hid a grimace. "I'm afraid to ask," he said.

Thankfully Sarah seemed oblivious to his discomfort. "Johnny took him under his wing, helped him get a scholarship to MIT." She shook her head with a small grin of amusement. "Spent more time with that kid than he did me," she admitted.

The sinking feeling in his stomach tugged more insistently. "So our boy was into rescuing before he got knocked on the head," he said. He remembered the few stories Johnny shared of pre-coma indicators of his psychic ability. Johnny had been saving people all his life, long before Bruce entered the picture.

"Alex was a prodigy. Johnny was the first one to recognize his talent. They hit it off real well." A fond smile touched her lips but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Alex even came to visit once, not long after the doctors told me Johnny wouldn't be waking up..."

"Seems like a nice guy," Bruce murmured, quickly looking down at the plastic cup in his hand. He gulped down the rest of his drink, needing an excuse to get away for a few moments. Sarah eyed him suspiciously but didn't push. He excused himself and went into the kitchen to refill his cup.

-- --

Days later, after reviewing Johnny's Armageddon timeline and puzzling over Alex's involvement, Bruce sat in Johnny's kitchen casting his friend surreptitious glances. The day before Johnny had joined Alex at the research lab. Within the hour, Johnny would go back.

Bruce sat at the breakfast table and flipped through sections of the newspaper restlessly as Johnny used him as a sounding board.

"If anything, they're going to save lives," Johnny said, consternation coloring his tone.

Bruce stared at the picture of Greg Stillson on the front page; the man's smile dripped with an overabundance of charm that made Bruce's stomach churn. "But when you touch him..." he said, looking up at his friend. "Kaboom!"

Johnny looked a little paler than normal although his voice remained steady. "Something strange about that, too. _Before_ D.C. explodes, Alex gets consumed by fire."

As he stared at Johnny, Bruce could see that spark of _something_ hinting at a deeper emotion. Bruce quickly glanced down at the paper again. "Maybe he's not the cause of the blast."

"Maybe he's a flashpoint..." Johnny considered.

Bruce fingered the three-by-five color photo of Stillson as he added, "My money's on the original Dark Prince."

_Focus on Stillson_, he told himself. _Don't think about it_. Bruce didn't want to acknowledge the increasing heat from the flames ignited by the sparks he'd seen. He didn't know what it meant to Alex or Johnny, but he felt ready to burst. Even the stab of cold jealousy couldn't contend with the overwhelming heat.

-- --

"I can't let him perfect the process... I've got to believe stopping him will save more lives..."

"Listen to yourself!" Bruce protested. "You're talking about sabotaging his work."

Johnny didn't say things like that. He hadn't been willing to sacrifice Rebecca or Purdy or Bruce in the name of preventing Armageddon—this case wasn't any different. Johnny couldn't know exactly how Alex fit into the scheme of things.

"Whatever's got to be done, right?" At that moment Bruce saw Johnny as many outsiders did—a man possessed by the ability that made him extraordinary. "It's the Apocalypse. The Four Horsemen are on their way.

"He's not going to give them up," Johnny muttered as he tore out a page from the slim hardcover book he'd picked up from a box. Bruce watched with growing uneasiness as Johnny brought the page to the board. "Alex trusts his teacher," he said quietly.

Bruce couldn't find his voice for a moment. "You're going to get close to him. Just to mess up the formula, make him think it's a design flaw." He shook his head. "God, John. There has to be another way."

Johnny circled Alex's picture on the yearbook page with a marker; he stood staring at the picture, his lips pressed tightly together. Bruce jammed his hands into his pockets, afraid Johnny would see the tremors belying his outer calm.

"I don't want to," Johnny said quietly. "I don't know what else I can do." Because he felt sure Alex would never believe the truth. _"Too much of a scientist,"_ he argued.

When Bruce left the mansion a few hours later he felt dizzy from all the information Johnny had dumped on him.

-- --

All day Bruce was distracted by a disturbing dream. In it he had walked into the mansion as he always did, but when he searched the downstairs rooms he couldn't find his friend._ "John?"_ he called, heading up the stairs. As he approached the bedroom he heard voices making very distinctive noises. Against his better judgment he opened the doors and got an eyeful. Johnny lay on his back, legs splayed, with his hands buried in the curly hair crowning the head between his legs. Alex Conners had the bed sheets tangled around his body as he sucked Johnny's cock into his mouth. Johnny groaned and emitted an occasional high-pitched keen of pleasure. Bruce could only stand and watch, stunned and appalled that either man would let this happen.

_It was only a dream_.

Bruce picked up Chinese before heading over to Johnny's after work. His breath caught in his throat as he pulled into the drive. Alex's bike leaned on its stand by the front steps, leaving more than enough room for Bruce to park. But he was in Bruce's spot.

He carried the bag of takeout to the kitchen and set in on the countertop. It took little time to confirm that Johnny wasn't downstairs. Bruce braced himself as he followed in his dream's footsteps: up the stairs, down the hall...

The bedroom doors were partially opened. Bruce tried not to think about how they'd gotten that way. (_Hurried motions, anxious hands clutching at clothing, bumping into the door and stumbling through._) Bruce took a deep, silent breath and inched along the wall until he could look in. The _noises_ from his dreams were blessedly absent. Yet he did hear voices, too soft to distinguish the words.

Through the half-open doors he could see the bed. A chill ran up his spine. He suddenly felt disconnected from his body. He stared at the figures entwined on top of the dark bed sheets. Johnny's skin looked strikingly tan beneath the pale, slender body lying on top of him. Johnny's hand brushed over Alex's hair. Bruce watched with numb fascination as Alex canted his head and started kissing Johnny's neck. When Johnny's free hand caressed Alex's ass, Bruce stepped back and fled.

When reality returned Bruce found himself clutching the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. He forced his fingers to uncurl. His hands settled in his lap, he looked around and saw the Bannerman's residence across the street. He didn't remember anything since the shocking scene at Johnny's.

His head throbbed. He could feel his pulse in his fingers as the blood resumed circulation. In his mind's eye he imagined Johnny arching into Alex's touch, quiet encouragements spilling from his lips. In his better dreams Bruce would slide over Johnny's body as gentle hands caressed his sides. _"What took so long?"_ Johnny would ask. Bruce responded that he didn't know. He kissed the parted lips with a silent promise that no more time would be wasted.

The sound of rain brought his mind back to the present. He watched the tiny streams of water trace patterns on the windshield. Involuntarily he thought about how Johnny's damaged knee acted up during the changes in weather. Alex wouldn't know what to do, how to ease the pain. For a moment he thought spitefully that the psychic deserved it for such a betrayal.

Not a betrayal. Bruce had no hold on Johnny, there was no commitment.

In a few minutes the simple rain shower turned into a downpour. Bruce exhaled with an explosive sigh and started the engine. The windshield wipers flung off the accumulating raindrops in a valiant attempt to keep the window clear. He pulled away from the curb carefully and focused on getting home – to an empty apartment – safely.

As he stood in the shower later that night he wondered how Alex would react if he found the guest bedroom stocked with a small supply of Bruce's belongings. (A selection of clothing – for work, casual, and an old pair of shorts and a T-shirt for the projects he occasionally found himself doing around the mansion; a couple of the more useful books of psychic theory and meditation; a toothbrush; and other odds and ends.) He usually spent an average of three or four nights a week staying at Johnny's. He wished that Alex _would_ find the room and demand why Johnny would sleep with someone else when he was already involved.

_Only dreams_, he reminded himself.

Bruce didn't see much of Johnny in the following days. The blonde never mentioned finding the Chinese food and Bruce had all but forgotten it until he saw a fortune cookie tucked between a ceramic canister and the coffee maker the one morning he'd been invited to breakfast.

Johnny turned down Bruce's offers of company with requests for privacy in order to work through the current piece of the apocalyptic puzzle. For his part, Bruce didn't push past the first "No" and didn't bring up Alex unless absolutely necessary. He knew it had to be more than a one night stand.

Johnny made no indication of noticing anything unusual in Bruce's behavior. He made no personal reference of Alex, at most commenting on his moral character not fitting in with the conspiracy surrounding Stillson. Bruce said nothing since he had nothing to refute. But in his mind he yelled at Johnny for keeping secrets – from him and from Alex. Johnny took Alex to bed yet refused to even attemptexplaining the visions. His disappointment with Johnny's approach matched the pity he felt for Alex. Despite his dedication to Johnny and jealousy over his relationship with Alex, Bruce recognized that it would end in a spectacular disaster. Both men would walk away with permanent scars. Bruce didn't know if he could help Johnny in the aftermath; he'd have scars of his own.

Johnny called him in the late morning the day Alex figured things out. Bruce found the blonde pacing in the kitchen

"Why didn't you just tell him?" Bruce asked quietly. Why not at the beginning? Anytime earlier... before sabotaging the formula, before sleeping with the guy!

"They were dragging me out!" Johnny replied, his face creased with worry. "Only thing they forgot was the straightjacket."

Bruce busied himself by putting away the dishes in the dishwasher. The domesticity of the action unsettled him even though it was nothing new. Now he felt like the intruder. (_Pale and tan limbs tangled together in bed sheets, fingers tracing the curve of shoulder and hip and ass..._)

"Maybe you should grow a beard and get a cardboard sign that says 'The end is near'," he said.

When he turned around he found Johnny staring at him disapprovingly; a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes. Bruce looked away with a sigh. "Look, if you saw Alex laughin' it up with Stillson, then that'd be your answer. The future connection with Stillson through his work is giving you the Armageddon vision."

"Alex is in the vision, too," Johnny murmured. "He's the first to die." Bruce shuddered at the hopeless conviction in that statement.

He didn't know what to do. The Armageddon visions were always hard to handle given their secretive nature, Bruce's vision of an alternate John Smith who'd been prepared to assassinate Stillson, and the difficulty of believing the visions in the first place. Bruce could admit to having his doubts. By now he couldn't deny the elements of truth in Johnny's visions even if he saw things differently from an outside perspective, though he wasn't convinced he could do much to stop something as monumental as _the end of the world_. And now with Alex (_naked, sweaty bodies sliding together_) he felt even further out of his league. Jealousy and longing would affect his thinking, Bruce knew; even if that wasn't the case, what could he really say to help a situation that was as much about Johnny's relationship as it was about Armageddon?

Johnny made a strangled sound that he abruptly cut off. Bruce closed his eyes helplessly and swallowed his heartache. "This is crazy, John. You can't keep living like this."

Bruce opened his eyes to Johnny angrily taking a step forward. "You think I _want_ this?" the blonde demanded. He spread his arms. "You think I _like_ the fact that I can't shake someone's hand without seeing crazy things?"

"That's not what I mean." _You can't keep getting personally involved._ In nightmares Bruce sometimes wondered how things would be had Rebecca followed through on her plan to kill Stillson.

"What do you mean?" Johnny snapped, his glare challenging.

Bruce resisted the urge to look away as he spoke. "Maybe there's nothing we can do to stop the end of the world. Maybe... maybe the prophets got it right." He paused when fury flared in Johnny's expression. Before the blonde could interrupt, he hurried on. "Maybe it's just..." he shook his head helplessly, "supposed to happen."

"You're not asking me to give up," Johnny said in a warning tone that chilled Bruce to the bone.

With a sad smile Bruce replied, "I learned to stop doing that a long time ago, John." A lesson learned right away, and he had reminders again and again in the years following.

"Good." The blonde cast him a final warning glare and left him alone.

Bruce slumped against the counter-top and dragged his hands over his face. What else could he do? It wasn't in him to hide his opinions from his best friend, especially when it involved something this important. Johnny should know by now that even if Bruce didn't agree, he'd be there to play Alfred to Johnny's Bruce Wayne.

After so many years it was difficult to think what could possibly make Bruce abandon Johnny. In spite of the blonde's past attempts to shake him, Bruce stayed. ("If it turns out that somehow I'm the one who causes Armageddon...? Bruce, you have to promise me you'll do the right thing... You have to do whatever it takes to stop me! Whatever it takes." _I'll lay down my life for you, in a heartbeat. But don't ask me this._)

Bruce went outside to sit on the steps, needing some space and fresh air.

-- --


	2. Chapter 2

This is Just Routine Part Two

Clarity Scifiroots  
Disclaimers apply. (_A lot_ of dialogue is directly quoted or mimicked from the episode script.) Title from Afterhours' "There's Many Ways."  
**Rating**: FRM  
**SPOILERS**: The entire episode of "Vanguard" specifically, all mythos leading up to it  
**Summary**: Bruce felt uneasy from the moment he met Alex Conners.  
May!fic 22 of 31

-- --

When Bruce came inside some time later, Johnny ignored him. After about fifteen minutes of that, Bruce gave up and returned to his apartment.

He stood in the kitchen staring blindly into the refrigerator. This place wasn't his home and hadn't been for a long while.

-- --

After blocking the men following Alex, Bruce and Johnny didn't speak. In the silence Bruce clutched the steering wheel tightly and locked his gaze on the road.

He pulled into the dark parking lot of the Museum of Science & Nature. Johnny got out of the car before he even cut the engine. Bruce opened his door and glanced around. "Maybe he misunderstood you."

Johnny's expression tightened with anxiety and pain. "Or maybe he just didn't trust me."

Alex stepped out of the darkness, saving Bruce from making a pitiful attempt at consolation.

"It happened," Alex said, his expression carefully blank although Bruce could see the surprise and wariness in his eyes. "I had the breakthrough. The beakers fell. Then Peck came in with Stillson. Just like you said."

Bruce stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and shifted uncomfortably. "Funny how that works, ain't it?"

"I'm a man of science, but I can't find a rational explanation for it..." Presumably Alex responded to Bruce but his eyes locked on Johnny.

"There's no explanation." Bruce fisted his hands in frustration. "It's... cosmic."

Alex glanced very briefly at Bruce. "You want to tell me what my local congressman's got to do with it?"

"Greg Stillson can't be allowed to exploit your work." Johnny looked apologetic.

Alex sighed. "It's going to be converted, isn't it? Used in some kind of weapon."

"Guess there's a reason you're the star pupil," Bruce muttered sarcastically; no one actually paid attention to him, anyway. Why had Johnny called him along if he was going to be the third wheel?

"It's always been at the back of my mind," Alex explained in response to Johnny's surprise. "I knew my research could be exploited. But there's more... isn't there?" Bruce glanced sidelong at his friend, knowing the man wouldn't be able to avoid telling the truth. Alex swallowed visibly and his voice wavered slightly when he spoke. "When you touch me, what do you see?"

When Johnny refused to answer right away, Bruce said, "Tell him, John." _He deserves to know. _Time to lay it out in the open, stop covering his intentions with unreadable masks...

"I see fire." Johnny wore a haunted expression. "I see the end of the world."

Bruce focused on Alex, watching as a variety of emotions sped across his face. He knew Alex couldn't process it immediately and with so little detail. Honestly Bruce expected Johnny to be in more of a story-telling mode about it.

"What do you want me to do?" Alex asked, expression hardening.

Shaking his head, Bruce muttered, "'atta boy." _Jump out of the frying pan into the fire. Have you always inspired such blind leaps of faith, John?_

Johnny thumped the roof of the car with his fist. "It's too dangerous," Johnny insisted.

Bruce wasn't surprised to see Alex's determination increase, his posture straightening as he argued, "I created this. My mind, my hands brought it to life. Somebody's gotta be the vanguard against these bastards, right? Might as well be us, Teach."

A look of astonishment passed over Johnny's face, followed quickly by a much gentler emotion. Bruce turned away. The ground felt like it'd been pulled out from under him and he was freefalling. He felt nauseous to the point that he thought he might actually be sick. He had no business being here. _Damnit. Why did you ask me? Did you want me to see this?_

Johnny's gasp instantly had him circling the car. "Talk to me, John," he insisted, momentarily ignoring how Alex's hand hovered close to Johnny's elbow.

"I saw Stillson." Johnny directed the statement at Bruce; this was their routine. "He was..." Johnny met his gaze, face pale. "He was the President of the United States."

-- --

They relocated to an area behind the museum where long wooden buildings lined a gravel path. Bruce watched Johnny and Alex build a small fire. He looked through the trunk as an excuse to stay by the car. He thought it strange that they planned to stay out here; the mansion should be safe enough with all its security and familiarity of home territory. Glancing at the other men from the corner of his eye he added, _John's going to regret this in the morning_; his knee wouldn't hold up well in the current weather.

Eventually he couldn't avoid them any longer. Bruce brought a blanket with him. Before he sat, he tossed the blanket at Johnny. "Keep yourself warm or you'll regret not having that cane anymore." The blonde frowned at him and slowly nodded.

Bruce sighed and settled back against the peeling paint of a nearby building. He stared at the fire. He couldn't think of a thing to say and had the sense that the other men had similar trouble. _Third wheel_, his mind provided unhelpfully.

-- --

Bruce started awake at the feel of hand on his shoulder. Johnny squatted at his side, expression determined.

"What?" Bruce asked warily.

"I need your keys."

Bruce looked down at himself and found the blanket draped over him. The sky showed signs of the rising sun. Damn, how long had he been asleep? He looked back at Johnny.

"What are you planning?"

Johnny's hand squeezed his shoulder tighter. "I need to get Alex out of this. I'm going to make a deal."

_Fuck!_ "With Stillson?" Bruce hissed. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Quiet," Johnny insisted, nodding his head at Alex's sleeping form on the other side of the fire's remains. Bruce recognized Johnny's coat lying over the other man.

"I'm not letting him get caught up in this anymore. I'll convince Stillson the work will be an embarrassing disaster that I don't want Alex to suffer through."

Bruce shook his head in disbelief. "It's not going to work."

"I don't care what you think." Johnny glared at him disapprovingly. "Would you give me your keys?"

Reluctantly Bruce fished his keys out of a pocket and handed them over. He kept his hand over Johnny's. "I wish you wouldn't do this. You know this could just make things worse?"

Johnny's lips pressed together in a grim line. "I have to try," he said. Bruce nodded and let him go. When he heard the car start he leaned back and closed his eyes. _You're an idiot. You better not get hurt._

-- --

Bruce had moved to sit only a couple feet from Alex and directly in the younger man's line of sight. So he knew he was the first thing Alex registered when he woke up.

Alex blinked a few times and sat up quickly, Johnny's coat sliding onto his lap. He eyed Bruce guardedly. "Ah, good morning to you, too."

"What did he tell you?" Bruce asked.

"About...?" Alex raked his fingers through his hair. "He... really didn't explain anything." He looked down at the coat in his lap and ran his hand over the material. "He said something about making a deal."

"It's a deal with the devil," Bruce said quietly. Alex's head jerked up with a wide-eyed stare. "John can be an idiot that way." Bruce sighed and ran a hand over his face; he found he couldn't blame Alex no matter how much he'd like to. "He's huge on the self sacrifices. And he's particularly reckless when it comes to Stillson."

Alex shifted so that he could lean against the building behind him. "What do you think he's going to do?"

Chuckling, Bruce replied, "Who knows? Tell Stillson he's gonna be president? Promise to help his campaign? Swear he'll back off if they'll keep away from you? Your guess is probably as good as mine." He stared at Alex and took a good look at him for the first time.

Alex shifted again, most likely uncomfortable with Bruce's stare.

Bruce looked away and leaned back. "You always had a crush on him?"

"What?" Alex straightened up defensively, expression suspicious.

"I know," Bruce said gently. "I... Never mind, that doesn't matter." He offered a crooked smile. "Messed up as it is right now, maybe when you come out the other side of this you two will work things out."

Alex shook his head slowly. "It's just a thing," he protested unconvincingly. "I mean, it was probably just part of..." he trailed off.

The disappointment and hurt on the man's face made Bruce's heart ache. "He didn't use you like that." Alex glanced at him. Bruce closed his eyes against the hopeful expression. This was killing him. "He should have told you from the beginning."

"I probably wouldn't have believed him," Alex said.

"Maybe not..." Bruce opened his eyes. Alex stared at him thoughtfully. _Shit_. "Look, Alex, you're important to him. He's not just going to give you up and get you hurt."

Alex didn't say anything for a long time, and Bruce got the feeling that the other man had figured some things out for himself.

Finally Alex said, "How long have you known him?" Bruce remained silent. "Since after the coma, right? You were his physical therapist, I think Miss Bracknell said." Bruce found he couldn't look away from the scrutinizing gaze. "You're the one always helping him. I bet you're the only one who knows about these Stillson visions. So what's it like to be a psychic's best friend?"

Bruce clenched his jaw so tight he wasn't sure he could open it again. Alex appeared calm but his words hadn't been nearly as gentle, particularly the last.

"You worried?" Bruce managed, voice tense. "He either doesn't know or doesn't care. Either way, I'm not competition." Alex glanced away guiltily. _That's what you were looking for._

"Hard to think that way," Alex responded. He wouldn't look at Bruce again. "I mean, it's been like eleven years since I've talked to the guy and that was when I was just getting into college. I've got to seem like this kid—"

"You know that's not true," Bruce cut in, somewhat bitterly.

Alex looked back at him with a look of muted alarm. Bruce waved it off tiredly.

After another moment of hesitation, Alex continued; "My point is, we don't really know each other. I mean, we're different..." He looked down at his hands and shrugged. "But maybe that's why this happened, why it seemed to actually be working." He sighed. "I bet my parents would flip."

"You're twenty-eight," Bruce said, mostly to remind himself. It wasn't much of an age difference. Pretty normal, actually. Strange how he felt so much older than Alex.

Alex rolled his eyes, humor lightening his features. "Well, factor into the equation that he was my high school teacher. Although it probably helps that he was totally into Miss Bracknell back then." Bruce smiled faintly.

A while later they stood up to stretch. Alex brushed off Johnny's coat and a look of determination settled on his face. Bruce waited for the explanation.

"I'm going back," Alex announced, meeting Bruce's expectant stare. "I can destroy the hard drive and get rid of the samples. There's nothing they'll be able to do."

"I don't like it," Bruce cautioned. "It may not be easy to do, but it's too simple. These guys don't give up quickly." Alex refused to back down. With a sigh, Bruce said, "Then I'm coming with you." Alex didn't look convinced but nodded.

They walked to Alex's bike and set Johnny's coat next to one of the buildings. Alex offered Bruce his helmet, but it was refused. Alex got on first and revved the engine. Bruce hesitated a moment before climbing on behind. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable he wrapped his arms around Alex.

"Ready?" Alex asked, voice muffled by the barrier of his helmet.

"As I'll ever be," Bruce answered. Alex knocked back the kickstand and straightened up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce saw a dark blur of motion. Before he could turn his head a blow to his side knocked him off balance. He fell off the bike; Alex stayed on.

"Get out of here!" Bruce shouted. He pulled himself to his feet just in time to block another punch from a dark-suited man. _Shit. Did you seriously think you could make some "deal," John?_

He did pretty well against his opponent, getting in his own occasional jabs. He couldn't hear Alex but wasn't convinced that meant the guy had been smart enough, or lucky enough, to escape. The appearance of a second Men in Black type drove away any hope he had of escaping. The first man managed to trap his arms, the second closed in with gut punch that left Bruce gasping for breath. He barely saw the fist closing in on his head.

-- --


	3. Chapter 3

This is Just Routine Part Three

Clarity Scifiroots  
Disclaimers apply. (_A lot_ of dialogue is directly quoted or mimicked from the episode script.) Title from Afterhours' "There's Many Ways."  
**Rating**: FRM  
**SPOILERS**: The entire episode of "Vanguard" specifically, all mythos leading up to it  
**Summary**: Bruce felt uneasy from the moment he met Alex Conners.  
May!fic 21 of 31

-- --

Someone called his name. Johnny... had to be him.

His head hurt like hell. Though details and coherency currently eluded him, he knew Alex was gone.

"I'm sorry, John..." he said.

It took him a minute to gather his senses and get to his feet. When his vision cleared he saw Johnny crouching on the ground, Alex's helmet in his hands. Bruce grimaced as he moved toward his friend. He wrapped an arm around his ribs in reaction to the pain. Fuck, those guys had done a number on him.

Johnny jerked out of a vision and stood. In tense silence Johnny started searching the area, kicking at the dirt and loose gravel. Bruce kept a few steps behind him. Eventually the blonde stopped and bent over to pick up a manila envelope. Johnny paled.

"What is it?" Bruce asked. Johnny handed over the envelope. "They threatened his family." Two candid pictures of a late middle-aged couple had been enlarged to 8" by 11" prints, clearly taken outside the house and without either person's knowledge.

"Stillson lied," Johnny said.

Bruce forced himself to reign in his sarcasm. "There's a shocker for ya."

Johnny looked at him with determination. "I have to make sure Alex is okay."

Against his better judgment, Bruce nodded. "I'll drive," he said.

That Johnny made no comment about Bruce's stiff movements and the way he held himself revealed the extent of the blonde's preoccupation with Alex.

-- --

Bruce heard Johnny's panicked shout from down the hallway and forced himself to run faster, ignore the pain just a little longer. The explosion that followed shortly after shook the floor under his feet. He knew it was too late as he came through the doorway. Johnny knelt amidst shards of glass and other debris next to Alex's battered body.

"We need an ambulance! Now!" Johnny's voice sounded high and pinched with fear.

A quick look around revealed a phone hanging nearby on the wall. Bruce yanked the receiver off its hook and shakily reported to the man at the other end of the line.

He didn't want to turn around and see Johnny's arms cradling Alex's burned and bloody body. A person wasn't supposed to smoke like that. Things shouldn't have happened like this. It didn't have to happen like this.

-- --

The paramedics and EMTs didn't arrive in time. Bruce doubted there was any possibility they could have. Johnny went into shock and one of the female medics took him aside to calm him down. A couple of attendants noticed Bruce's injuries and insisted on looking him over; he didn't protest much. They wrapped his ribs and cleaned the handful of cuts and scrapes. The girl (she looked like a high school student, he wondered how old she was) told him to check in with a doctor right away if he noticed an increase of swelling, additional pain, or began to lose feeling. Bruce nodded in all the right places, but his attention had turned to Johnny.

-- --

The funeral was set for a week later. Bruce stuck with Johnny the entire time, overlooking the frustrated glances he got and the mood swings when they came. Sarah stopped by daily and always left with tears in her eyes. Johnny alternated ignoring Bruce with hiding away in a locked room or the basement.

A few days after Alex's death Walt came over. Since Johnny had locked himself in the basement, Bruce greeted the sheriff.

"John called the other day," Walt said, expression grim. "Talked to Sarah about it, too. She's pretty upset. But officially the explosion's been declared an accident."

Bruce closed his eyes and swallowed back anger. No way would Johnny accept that.

"I can't do anything about it," Walt continued. Bruce opened his eyes and could read in the other man's expression that he needed help convincing Johnny of that. "It's private property with enough federal connections that it's outside our jurisdiction. There's no real evidence to press the point, either. It's all hearsay – not that I think either of you should breathe a word of this to anyone else."

"He's been in enough trouble," Bruce agreed. Since Rachel's murder a few years ago and Johnny's subsequent arrest, the obsession with Stillson and Armageddon had become known by too many people. Luckily no one really understood it or had made the connections, but to bring it up again (and without evidence) would raise too much suspicion.

Walt nodded. "Look, I don't know what exactly went on. I'm not sure I want to know." Bruce shook his head with a weak smile.

"No, you really don't."

"Walt."

They turned; Johnny stood a few feet away, posture tense. Walt cast a pleading glance at Bruce. Nodding his support, Bruce moved towards the blonde while Walt started his explanation.

-- --

Bruce drove Johnny to the cemetery and stood at his side throughout the ceremony. He knew that Johnny had insisted on helping cover the funeral costs. The casket's smooth wood warmed under the sun, the simple curve of its lid accented by the glittering light. Bruce stared at the coffin throughout the ceremony.

Very little of the priest's words registered in his mind, his thoughts preoccupied by replaying the past few weeks. As much as he wished he could make things right, he knew there was nothing he could do. Nothing Johnny could do, either, although the man probably didn't accept that right now. Bruce looked at Johnny and saw the faint trembling of the blonde's hands, the usual sign that his pain had spiked. Instinctively he eased closer and touched his friend's elbow. Johnny jerked his arm away in reflex, but after a quick glance at Bruce he settled back in place.

The mourners began to drift away as they laid flowers on the casket and paid their respects to the grieving parents. Bruce didn't move until he saw Walt and Sarah turn away. Johnny straightened up and turned to the Conners. After a moment of hesitation, Bruce backed off and walked away. He stopped at the curb of the paved drive that ran through the cemetery and glanced over his shoulder. The gravesite wasn't in view.

Parents aren't supposed to bury their kids, Bruce thought. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples tiredly. He didn't know where Johnny would lead him next. He knew going after Stillson was a very likely option, one that he didn't think would be very wise. Nevertheless, whatever Johnny decided, Bruce would follow.

-- Fin --


End file.
